Hague condemns attack on US Embassy in Turkey

Suspected suicide bomber killed himself and a guard after in an explosion at the embassy's security checkpoint

Emergency personnel at a side entrance of the US Embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device

Foreign Secretary William Hague has condemned an attack on the US Embassy in Ankara in which a suspected suicide bomber killed himself and a guard.

A Turkish citizen was also wounded in the blast, which appeared to have been set off by the bomber inside the security checkpoint at an entrance to the embassy.

Mr Hague said: "My thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims of the terrorist attack at the US Embassy in Ankara.

"I condemn this attack in the strongest terms. Turkey and the United States can rely on the full support of the United Kingdom as they seek to hold to account those responsible."

A door to the embassy was blown off its hinges and debris strewn across the road, but it is not thought that there was any damage inside the embassy itself.

An injured woman was seen being carried into an ambulance.

There has been no claim of responsibility made so far, but Kurdish rebels and Islamic militants are active in Turkey.

The US Embassy said the Turkish National Police were investigating the incident.

"The US Embassy would like to thank the Turkish government, the media, and members of the public for their expressions of solidarity and outrage over the incident," it said.

US Ambassador Francis Ricciardione told reporters that a guard at the gate was killed in the blast, and a Turkish citizen was wounded.

Police swarmed into the area and several ambulances were dispatched. One woman who appeared to be seriously injured was seen being carried into an ambulance.

A police official said they had examined security cameras around the embassy and had identified two people who could have been the suicide bomber.

Homegrown Islamic militants tied to al Qaida have carried out suicide bombings in Istanbul, killing 58, in 2003. The targets were the British consulate, a British bank and two synagogues.

In 2008, an attack blamed on al-Qaida-affiliated militants outside the US Consulate in Istanbul left three assailants and three policemen dead.

In the November 2003 attack on the British consulate, a suspected Islamic militant rammed an explosive-laden pickup truck into the main gate, killing British Consul-General, Roger Short, and his assistant, Lisa Hallworth.

Turkey has become a harsh critic of the regime in Syria, where a vicious civil war has left at least 60,000 people dead. The first of six Patriot missile batteries being deployed to Turkey to protect against attack from Syria was declared operational and placed under Nato command on Saturday and others were expected to be operational in the coming days.

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